He will be the second foreign national to open the festival following Chinese actress Tang Wei, who hosted last year's opening ceremony.

The 48-year-old Kwok is a Hong Kong singer, dancer and actor who has been active since the 1980s and is also popular in South Korea.

Most recently, he starred in "Cold War," a Hong Kong crime thriller directed by first-time auteurs Sunny Luk and Longman Leung. He visited Busan last October to promote the film, which was chosen to open that year's BIFF. The film hit local theaters on Thursday, last week.

This year's festival is set to be held on Oct. 3-12 in the southern port city of Busan, featuring 301 movies from 70 countries.